Zooey Deschanel tops male poll

The US star, who heads the cast in Channel 4 series New Girl, topped a poll of more than 150,000 UK readers of website AskMen.com.

The highest ranked Briton is Harry Potter actress Watson at number two, while Pippa and her sister the Duchess of Cambridge both figure in the top ten, at six and ten.

Voters were asked to vote for the 99 Most Desirable Women based on looks, sex appeal and who would make an ideal partner.

Charlie Parrish, editor of AskMen UK, said of 31-year-old Deschanel: “It’s incredibly positive to discover so many cultured, contemporary choices like Zooey, Emma Watson and Lana Del Rey beating the more traditional pin-up favourites.”